Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Coronavirus

baroness sherlock: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether an employee who is isolating due to COVID-19 and is in receipt of Statutory Sick Pay can claim Universal Credit to supplement their income. [T]

baroness stedman-scott: Employees who are self-isolating in line with government advice because they are displaying symptoms, or someone in their household is displaying symptoms, of Coronavirus, and are unable to work as a result, will be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Other eligibility criteria apply. Emergency legislation has also been introduced to suspend the SSP ‘waiting days’. This means that employees will receive SSP from the first day they are unable to work due to coronavirus. Universal Credit is also available for those on low incomes who need extra financial support and an individual can claim both Universal Credit and Statutory Sick Pay if they meet the criteria for entitlement.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Greece: Asylum

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of Greece has detained and mistreated migrants at secret extrajudicial sites before deporting those migrants to Turkey; and what representations they have made to the government of Greece about refoulement.

baroness sugg: The UK Government is aware of reports of the detention and mistreatment of migrants in Greece and remain in close contact with the Greek Government. We recognise that the Greek authorities are under considerable pressure and we remain committed to supporting Greece's efforts to manage migration effectively. The Minister for Immigration at the Home Office, and Greek Alternate Minister for Migration Mr George Koumoutsakos, signed the UK-Greece bilateral action plan on 22 April to this end. While the UK fully supports the right of States to control their borders, we also expect States to fulfil their international obligations and protect and promote the human rights of migrants. This includes with regard to the principle of non-refoulement. As part of the EU-Turkey Deal of 2016 Turkey is considered a safe country to which to return migrants who have entered Greece illegally.

Turkey: Politics and Government

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of Turkey has submitted proceedings to withdraw parliamentary immunity from 28 opposition MPs of the Republican People’s Party, the People’s Democratic Party and the Democratic Regions Party; and what representations they intend to make, if any, to that government about such reports.

baroness sugg: This is a matter for the Turkish Parliament. We will continue to follow closely developments on this. As a modern democracy, we expect Turkey to undertake any subsequent legal processes transparently and to fully respect the rule of law. We consistently encourage the Turkish government to uphold the rule of law, to respect fundamental freedoms and to adhere to its international obligations.

Cameroon: Peace Negotiations

baroness anelay of st johns: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Cameroon about the importance of sending representatives to participate in the talks to be hosted by the Swiss Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue to facilitate an end to the security crisis in Cameroon.

baroness sugg: We welcome the ongoing work by the Swiss Government and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue on mediation efforts between parties in Cameroon. We urge the Government of Cameroon to remain engaged in this process and help to bring peace and stability to the North-West and South-West (Anglophone) regions. The British High Commissioner to Cameroon regularly engages in high-level discussions with the Government of Cameroon on the Anglophone crisis, including the mediation process led by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. The UK stands ready to support all credible peacebuilding initiatives.

Gibraltar: Coronavirus

baroness harris of richmond: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Gibraltarreceives sufficient(1) testing, and (2) personal protection,equipmentduring the COVID-19 pandemic.

baroness sugg: The UK Government is working with Crown Agents to procure and deliver essential medical supplies to Gibraltar and the other Overseas Territories, working in partnership with the Overseas Territories' Chief Medical Officers to prioritise requirements. Initial shipments of medical supplies have arrived in Gibraltar.British Forces Gibraltar have also been able to provide logistics support and assistance in the establishment of a temporary hospital (Europa Point Nightingale Facility) to provide the Gibraltar Health Authority with additional capacity. We stand ready to consider any further requests from Government of Gibraltar for support of this nature.The Prime Minister wrote to the Chief Minister on 28 March, assuring him of the UK's commitment to support Gibraltar.

Nigeria: Humanitarian Situation

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) reported killing of 60 Christians in villages in Plateau State in Nigeria by Fulani militia, and (2) the humanitarian situation in Nigeria; and what discussions they have had with the government of Nigeria about protecting those at risk and bringing perpetrators of human rights and freedom of religion or belief abuses to justice.

baroness sugg: We condemn all incidents of intercommunal violence in Nigeria. We have been unable to verify reports of over 60 recent deaths in multiple incidents in Plateau State. Given religion forms a fundamental part of the identity of most Nigerians, our assessment is that religion inevitably plays a part in many clashes, including some which involve Fulani herdsmen. The British High Commissioner visited Plateau State in December 2019 and met the Governor, Christian and Muslim faith leaders, as well as Fulani communities. All highlighted the complex root cause of violence, including politicisation, ethnic tensions, and disputes over land resources. The FCO and Wilton Park conference on 'Fostering Social Cohesion in Nigeria' in February highlighted the importance of countering inaccurate media narratives misrepresenting disparate incidents as a homogenous religious conflict, and also of inflammatory terminology such as 'militia' to describe diverse ethnic groups. Urgent action is needed by the Nigerian Government to protect those at risk, bring perpetrators to justice and implement long-term solutions that address the root causes.Humanitarian need in Nigeria is greatest in the North East where the decade long conflict with Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa has left 7.9 million people in need of assistance. The UK is the second largest donor to the North East and will be providing lifesaving assistance for up to 1.6 million vulnerable people this year as part of a five year UKAid commitment of up to £400 million. We have made clear to the Nigerian authorities, at the highest levels, the importance of protecting civilians, including ethnic and religious minorities, and human rights for all Nigerians.

Cabinet Office

Coronavirus: Sepsis

lord empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many COVID-19 related deaths in the UK resulted from a secondary bacterial infection leading to sepsis.

lord true: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond. Dear Lord Empey,As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many COVID-19 related deaths in the UK resulted from a secondary bacterial infection leading to sepsis (HL3127).The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing weekly numbers of deaths registered in England and Wales. The most recent figures published are for deaths registered in 2018[1], however, we do publish provisional weekly deaths registrations which are currently published for deaths registered up to 10 April 2020[2]. National Records Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for publishing the number of deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.Cause of death is defined using the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10). Deaths involving COVID-19 are identified by the ICD-10 codes U07.1 and U07.2 and deaths involving sepsis are identified by the ICD-10 codes A40 and A41. Sepsis is likely to be caused by a bacterial infection, therefore we have assumed that all deaths involving sepsis would involve a bacterial infection and have therefore not searched for this separately.Table 1 below shows the number of deaths occurring in March 2020 and registered by 10 April 2020 where the death involved both COVID-19 and sepsis, where COVID-19 caused the sepsis. The data covers deaths registered in Great Britain, as data for Northern Ireland is not yet fully coded.Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian DiamondTable 1: Number of deaths occurring in March 2020 involving COVID-19 and sepsis, where COVID-19 caused the sepsis, Great Britain[3][4] GeographyNumber of deathsGreat Britain26 Source: Office for National Statistics, National Records Scotland[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/deathsregisteredinenglandandwalesseriesdrreferencetables[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/weekending10april2020[3]Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes U07.1, U07.2, A40 and A41.[4]Figures are based on deaths occurring in March 2020, registered up until 10 April 2020

Employment: Coronavirus

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK’s working population, broken down by gender.

lord true: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond. Dear Baroness Lister,As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what plans have been made to publish data on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the UK’s working population, broken down by gender (HL3269).Labour market statistics are produced every month and include analysis of the working population by sex. The main source for these statistics is the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS’s latest estimates[1] were published on 21 April 2020 and cover the period prior to the implementation of the coronavirus (COVID-19) social distancing measure (December 2019 to February 2020). The next publication is scheduled for 19 May 2020 and will cover the period from January to March 2020.In addition to scheduled publications, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has a dedicated page[2] on the COVID-19 pandemic and any additional analysis is published there. We have also included some specific questions relating to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the LFS from April 2020 and launched an online Labour Market Survey from April, as announced in a statement[3] from the ONS. Both these sources will provide information by sex. We aim to publish as much as possible, as data becomes available, to aid understanding of the impact of the pandemic on the working population.Our Business Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Survey (BICS) asks firms a number of questions about employment, including whether they had laid off staff, their employment expectations, and take-up of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Latest survey estimates are available here[4]. Although the data does not enable a breakdown by sex, the sectoral information does show the variation across female-dominated versus male-dominated industries. We have recently published an article on furloughed workers, based on BICS data[5]:In addition, the weekly Opinions and Lifestyle Survey publishes survey responses by sex[6].Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian Diamond[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/april2020.[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases[3]https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/ensuringthebestpossibleinformationduringcovid19throughsafedatacollection[4]https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/coronavirusandtheeconomicimpactsontheuk/23april2020[5]https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/furloughingofworkersacrossukbusinesses/23march2020to5april2020[6]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandwellbeing/datasets/coronavirusandthesocialimpactsongreatbritaindata

Department of Health and Social Care

Prescriptions: Rural Areas

baroness mcintosh of pickering: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that NHS England implements the Electronic Prescription Service in dispensing practices to benefit rural patients.

lord bethell: The majority of dispensing practices are live with the prescribing functionality of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS). In the next round of general practitioner contract negotiations, the Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement will look at what further support can be provided to dispensing practices to implement the EPS.

Influenza: Vaccination

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many vaccine manufacturing facilities in the UK are currently operational.

lord bethell: Based on information held by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency about manufacturing sites that are licensed to produce biological medicines for human use, there are nine facilities which have the capability to produce vaccines in the United Kingdom.These are as follows:FujiFilm Diosynth, Billingham;National Health Service Blood and Transplant, University of Bristol;Lonza, Slough;BioReliance, Glasgow;Valneva Scotland Ltd, Livingston;Medimmune, Liverpool;Porton BioPharma Ltd, Salisbury;Seqiris Vaccines, Liverpool; andIpsen Biopharm Ltd, Wrexham.A tenth facility, Cancer Research UK’s Clare Hall Laboratories, Potters Bar, is currently closed for refurbishment work.

Hospital Beds

baroness quin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) the British Medical Association and (2) other health sector representatives about the availability of hospital beds for patients needing urgent treatment for something other than COVID-19.

lord bethell: The Department regularly engages with the British Medical Association and other health sector representatives such as National Health Service trade unions, including through the Social Partnership Forum (SPF). SPF meetings are now exclusively focused on COVID-19 workforce issues.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to evaluate different contact-tracing technologies and the possible timeframes for their implementation.

lord bethell: We are working with leading tech firms and experts in clinical safety and digital ethics in developing our contact-tracing app, drawing on a wide range of commercial, academic and international best practice. The technology is based on research evidence developed by epidemiologists, mathematical modellers and ethicists.We are actively considering when the best time would be to roll-out the app. Scaled-up contact tracing is likely to have greatest value when we have achieved reductions in the incidence of the virus to ensure low levels of transmission are maintained.